...The Pyramid model The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children Fact Sheet Need an easy reference that provides a quick overview of the Pyramid Model? Whether you are new to the Pyramid Model or have been implementing it for years and just need a reference, this four-page fact sheet is
for you! This guide walks you through the three-tiered framework of intervention practice (universal promotion, secondary preventions and tertiary interventions) and discusses the essential elements that must be in place in order the Pyramid Model to be implemented.
Response to Intervention and the Pyramid ModelResponse to Intervention (RtI) offers a compre-hensive model for the prevention of delays in learning and behavior. While this problem-solving framework was initially designed for application within Kindergarten to 12th grade programs, there is substantial research that supports the value of the model for application
within early childhood programs. How does this relate to the Pyramid Model? This paper explores that question by providing an overview of RtI and discussing the Pyramid Model and its application for promoting young children’s social competence and preventing behavior challenges.
...PosiTive Behavior suPPorT Complete Guide to Positive Behavior SupportEverything you ever wanted to know about PBS! This Word document is a complete reference that outlines the entire PBS (Posi-tive Behavior Support) process. While origi-nally created as a “take-away” tool to accom-pany the TACSEI Six Steps of PBS learning modules (see www.challengingbehavior.org/
explore/pbs/process.htm), this comprehensive reference also can be used on its own. In addition to detailed information about the PBS process, it includes links to all the forms, information sheets and worksheets described in the learning modules as well as websites and resources in easy-to-access sections at the end of the document.
Creating Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior Now Includes Strategies for Toddlers! Teachers! Looking for materials you can use in your classroom? One of TACSEI’s most popular products, this toolkit is made up of a
variety of handouts, worksheets, techniques, strategies, visuals and other resources that can help teachers create a plan to support young chil-dren who are having challenging behavior. Visit the TACSEI website to download the Teaching Tools either as a "zip" file, which means that you can download all nine folders in one convenient package, or browse the Table of Contents to download only the files that you want.
The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children
ProduCT GuIdETechnical Assistance Center
on Social Emotional Interventionfor Young Childrenfor Young Childrenfor Young Children
Take a Detour through TACSEI to Learn More About...
1
The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children Fact Sheet
THE TIERED FRAMEWORK OF THE PYRAMID MODEL
The Pyramid Model for Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Infants and Young Children provides a tiered intervention framework of evidence-based interventions for promoting the social, emotional, and behavioral development of young children (Fox et al., 2003; Hemmeter, Ostrosky, & Fox, 2006). The model describes three tiers of intervention practice: universal promotion for all children; secondary preventions to address the intervention needs for children at risk of social emotional delays, and tertiary interventions needed for children with persistent challenges. The Pyramid Model was initially described as an intervention framework for children 2-5 years old within early childhood settings. However, newer iterations of the model provide guidance for the implementation of the framework with infants, toddlers and preschoolers, and include interventions needed to support children who are typically developing and who have or are at risk for developmental delays or disabilities (Hunter & Hemmeter, 2009).
TIER 1: UNIVERSAL PROMOTION
The first tier of the Pyramid Model involves two levels of practices that are critical to promoting the social development of young children. The first level of practices is the provision of nurturing and responsive caregiving relationships to the child. This includes the family or primary caregiver and the caregiver or teacher
within an early childhood program. In addition to a focus on the relationship to the child, this level of the pyramid also describes the need for developing partnerships with families and collaborative relationships among intervention or classroom team members.
There is ample evidence that the provision of a responsive and nurturing relationship is pivotal to a child’s development (National Research Council, 2001; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). In their early years, children exist within a web of relationships with parents, teachers, other caring adults in their lives and eventually, peers. This web supplies the context within which healthy social emotional growth and the capacity to form strong positive relationships with adults and peers develop. The relationships level of the pyramid model includes practices such as: actively supporting children’s engagement; embedding instruction within children’s routine, planned, and play activities; responding to children’s conversations; promoting the communicative attempts of children with language
Response to Intervention and the Pyramid Model
June 2009
Lise Fox, Judith Carta, Phil Strain, Glen Dunlap,
& Mary Louise Hemmeter
Technical Assistance Centeron Social Emotional Intervention
for Young Childrenfor Young Childrenfor Young Children
Positive Behavior Support
Lise Fox Michelle A. Duda
Created by and available online from the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children at
www.challengingbehavior.org
...simPle Things you can do noW To helP Kids WiTh challenging Behavior Positive Solutions for Families Does this sound familiar? “I can’t get my child to listen! I just don’t know what to do anymore!” You are certainly not alone. This four-page brochure provides parents with eight straightforward and practical tips they can use when their young children exhibit challenging behavior. Even better, each tip includes a brief explanation and a real-life example to show parents how they might use the specific approach with their own family. This useful product is also available in Spanish.
www.challengingbehavior.org
Creating Teaching Tools for Young Children with Challenging Behavior is a FREE product developed by the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Interven‐tion for Young Children (TACSEI) that gives teachers practical strategies, developed from TACSEI’s research activities and experiences in Positive Behavior Support, to create a plan to support young children who are having challenging behavior.
The Teaching Tools provide:
(1) easily accessible ideas and materials such as handouts, worksheets, techniques, strategies, and visuals to support children in the classroom and other learning environments
(2) ideas of effective intervention approaches for children who do not need a func‐tional assessment to determine the function of the child’s problem behavior or a team‐based process to address persistent challenging behavior.
How are the Teaching Tools Organized?
The Teaching Tools are organized around the User's Manual which explains how to use the tools and provides all of the technical information you need to access the hyperlinked visual supports and materials. Also included within the Teaching Tools is the Routine Based Support Guide. The Guide is a document that accompanies all of the tools and is organized in routines and activities that typically occur in early child‐hood programs. It assists teachers in developing a support plan.
How Can I Get the Teaching Tools?
The Teaching Tools were originally created to be distributed on a CD. However, the contents of the CD are now available for download as a "zip" file from our website at www.challengingbehavior.org . This means that you can download the User's Manual, Routine Based Support Guide and all the accompanying handouts, visuals and other materials that are organized in a series of nine folders in one convenient package. Simply go to the website, click on “Browse Resources” then “Tools” to find the Teaching Tools, then follow the download instructions.
The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Chil‐dren, also known as TACSEI, is a five‐year grant made possible by the U.S. Depart‐ment of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. TACSEI takes the research that shows which practices improve the social‐emotional outcomes for young children with, or at risk for, delays or disabilities and creates FREE products and resources to help decision makers, care‐givers, and service providers apply these best practices in the work they do every day. Most of these free products are available from our web‐site for you to view, download and use.
Examples of Materials you will find in the Teaching Tools
Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children University of South Florida Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute Department of Child & Family Studies 13301 N. Bruce. B. Downs Blvd, MHC2‐1134 Tampa, FL 33612‐3807
Phone: (813) 974‐9803 Fax: (813) 974‐6115
www.challengingbehavior.org
♦ The Visual Strategies folder includes visual schedules, choice boards, cue cards, and activity sequences. A variety of pictured examples are provided to help teachers develop their own visual supports.
♦ The Feeling Vocabulary folder contains an article about appropriately expressing feelings, visuals depicting a variety of emotions, a feeling wheel, and a feeling chart.
♦ The Home Strategies folder helps link home and school and, among other materials, includes a questionnaire that offers critical information about the child and a scripted story which is provided to help children with first time transitions to school.
What are the Teaching Tools?
The roadmaP To effecTive inTervenTion PracTices series Need help sorting through the research? The Roadmap series provides summaries of existing evidence in a useful, concise format on topics related to assessment and inter-vention for social-emotional challenges of young children. Additionally, each install-ment in the series includes extensive refer-ences to more complete descriptions of vali-dated assessment and intervention practices.
Titles in the series currently include:
1. Screening for Social Emotional Concerns: Considerations in the Selection of Instruments
2. Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Curricula and Intervention Packages for Children 0-5 Years and Their Families
3. Promoting Social Behavior of Young Children in Group Settings: A Summary of Research
4. Technical Assistance to Promote Service and System Change
5. Family-Focused Interventions for Promoting Social-Emotional Development in Infants and Toddlers with or at Risk for Disabilities
Visit our website to download these and other FREE materials from TACSEI.
www.challengingbehavior.orgThis document is public domain and may be reproduced without permission. The development of these products were supported in part by a grant
from the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education (H326B070002). Opinions expressed herein are the author’s and do not reflect necessarily the position of the US Department of Education, and such endorsements should not be inferred.
Check out these four popular series from TACSEI… New titles are continually being added!
Family-Focused Interventions
for Promoting Social-Emotional
Development in Infants and
Toddlers with or at Risk for
DisabilitiesDiane Powell and Glen Dunlap
September 2010
ROADM
AP TO
EFFECTIVE
INTERVENTION
PRACTICES
www.challengingbehavior.org
5
Technical Assistance
to Promote Service
and System Change
Karen A. Blase
November 2009
ROADMAP TO EFFECTIVE
INTERVENTION PRACTICES
www.challengingbehavior.org
4
Promoting Social Behavior of Young Children in Group
Settings: A Summary of Research
Glen Dunlap & Diane Powell
August 2009
ROADMAP TO EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION PRACTICES
www.challengingbehavior.org
3
Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Curricula and Intervention Packages for Children 0-5 Years and Their Families
Diane Powell & Glen DunlapJune 2009
ROADMAP TO EFFECTIVE
INTERVENTION PRACTICES
www.challengingbehavior.org
2
Screening for Social
Emotional Concerns:
Considerations in the
Selection of Instruments
Jasolyn Henderson and Phillip Strain
January 2009
Roadmap to
EffEctivE
intERvEntion
pRacticEs
www.challengingbehavior.org
1
maKing life easier series This series of tipsheets is designed specifically for parents and caregivers and contains valuable information on how to make often challenging events easier to navigate, and even enjoyable, for both caregivers and children.
Titles in the series currently include:
• Bedtime and Naptime• Running Errands• Diapering
issue Brief series The TACSEI Issue Brief series provides important information on a number of topics:
• Preventing the Use of Restraint and Seclusion with Young Children: The Role of Effective, Positive Practices
• Integrating Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation with the Pyramid Model
• Administrator Strategies that Support High Fidelity Implementation of the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social-Emotional Competence & Addressing Challenging Behavior
• Promoting Social, Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes of Young Children Served Under IDEA
recommended PracTices series Want to know the facts? The Recommended Practices handouts have the facts! This series provides professionals and family members information on evidence-based recommendations for a variety of topics. Examples of titles include:
• Supporting Infants and Toddlers with Challenging Behavior
• Linking Social Development and School Readiness to Behavior
• Identifying and Monitoring Outcomes Related to Children's Social-Emotional Development
• Preventing Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Effective Practices
Visit challengingbehavior.org to download these handouts as well as other topics in the series.
1
Issue BriefPromoting Social, Emotional and
Behavioral Outcomes of Young
Children Served Under IDEA
Lise Fox & Barbara J. Smith, January, 2007
Why are social, emotional and behavioral
outcomes an essential priority?
A growing body of evidence confirms that serious and persistent
challenging behaviors in early childhood directly relate to later
problems in school success, social relationships, educational
and vocational success, and social adjustment 1. Conversely, key
social skills associated with learning in group settings include
being able to get along with others, follow directions, identify
and regulate one’s emotions and behavior, think of appropriate
solutions to conflict, persist on tasks, engage in social conver-
sation and cooperative play, and correctly interpret other’s
behavior and emotions 2.
Challenging behavior is a substantive problem of concern
because:• The prevalence rates for young children with chal-
lenging behavior ranges from 10 to 30% 3
• Social and behavioral competence in young children
predicts their academic performance in the first grade over
and above their cognitive skills and family backgrounds 4
Challenging behavior is a particular concern for students with
disabilities because:• Students with disabilities have more than three times
the number of serious misconduct incidents per 1,000
students than do typically developing students 5
• Over 1/3 of adolescents with disabilities have been
suspended or expelled 6
• Challenging behavior is evident in even the youngest
children served by IDEA. The NEILS study indicates
that 10-40 % of children served in Part C programs
have behavioral concerns 7
The following facts show that when challenging behavior is
not resolved, outcomes are poor:
• Young children with challenging behavior are more
likely to experience early and persistent peer rejection,
mostly punitive contacts with teachers, family interac-
tion patterns that are unpleasant for all participants,
and school failure 8
• Over 65% of students identified with emotional and
behavioral disorders drop out of school leading to
poor job outcomes, limited income and a pattern of
failure that persists into adulthood 9
• Childhood ratings of behavior problems at age 3 and 5
are the best predictors of later antisocial outcomes 10
• Around 48% of children with problem behaviors in
kindergarten have been placed in special education by
the 4th grade 11 W
hat are the osep, idea part c and b/619
requirements related to social, emotional
and behavioral outcomes?
OSEP requires states to demonstrate that children served by
IDEA are benefiting from those services. In doing so, OSEP
Technical Assistance Center
on Social Emotional Intervention
for Young Children
for Young Children
for Young Children
www.challengingbehavior.org
The development of this paper was supported in part by a grant from the Office of Special Education Programs,
U.S. Department of Education (H326B070002). Opinions expressed herein are the author’s and do not reflect
necessarily the position of the US Department of Education, and such endorsements should not be inferred.
This document is public domain and may be reproduced without permission.
1
Administrator Strategies that Support
High Fidelity Implementation of
the Pyramid Model for Promoting
Social-Emotional Competence &
Addressing Challenging Behavior
Melissa Mincic, Barbara J. Smith, & Phil Strain, July 2009
IntroductIon Implementing the Pyramid Model with fidelity and achieving
positive outcomes for children and their families requires
that administrators understand their roles in the implementa-
tion process. Every administrative decision impacts program
quality and sustainability. This Policy Brief underscores the
importance of facilitative administrative practices that provide
sustained commitment, timely training, competent coaching,
the use of process and outcome data for decision-making, and
the development of policies and procedures that are aligned
with high fidelity implementation.What Is InterventIon FIdelIty?
Administrative vigilance and support of high fidelity implemen-
tation of the Pyramid Model is critical if children are to benefit.
Intervention fidelity is defined as the degree to which interventions
are accurately and consistently carried out as originally specified
by the developers1. Implementing intervention procedures with
fidelity is absolutely necessary in order to achieve the intended
outcomes. The only way to know if a practice or intervention is
being accurately applied with fidelity is to measure implemen-
tation. The measurement tool used for the Pyramid Model for
preschool programs is the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool
(TPOT)2; and for birth-2 programs, the Teaching Pyramid Infant
Toddler Observation Scale (TPITOS)3. The TPOT and TPITOS
are used by an observer/coach to measure whether an early child-
hood professional is using the practices with fidelity.
Administrative support is key for achieving, as well as
sustaining, the implementation of intervention methods with
fidelity. Administrators can provide a number of supports
to help personnel responsible for implementing intervention
procedures overcome typical challenges along the way. These
essential supports are described next.It takes tIme Administrators and practitioners implementing intervention
procedures need to focus on small steps and on incremental
improvements in staff skills and related child outcomes.
Realistic expectations for children’s developmental outcomes
are important to prevent personnel from getting frustrated
and abandoning the intervention prior to reaching fidelity4.
Building a strong program that supports children’s social
emotional development cannot be achieved overnight, and
implementing and sustaining an intervention with fidelity
requires resources, supports and time. Personnel and families
need time to learn the new practices, time to practice them
and receive feedback, and time to collect data. Administra-
tors need time to develop procedures and written policies that
support these effective and necessary strategies. Intervention
fidelity is not a point in time. It is a journey! Based upon initial
data, we believe that most programs require two years to reach
satisfactory levels of fidelity using the Pyramid Model.
www.challengingbehavior.org
This document is public domain and may be reproduced without permission.
Technical Assistance Center
on Social Emotional Interventionfor Young Children
for Young Children
for Young Children
Policy Brief
1
www.challengingbehavior.orgThis document is public domain and may be reproduced without permission.
Policy BriefIntegrating Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation with the Pyramid ModelDeborah F. Perry & Roxane K. Kaufmann, November, 2009
IntroductIon
A growing number of states and communities are implementing the Pyramid Model in early care and education settings, and in many of these places there are also early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) programs operating. This policy brief provides an overview of ECMHC, how it can support the imple-mentation of the Pyramid Model and the policy issues that arise when administrators seek to integrate these two approaches at the state and local levels. Mental health consultants can: (1) serve as coaches for implementing the Pyramid practices; (2) serve as adjuncts to coaches, by working with children, families and teachers; and (3) use the Pyramid Model to inform and organize their own strategies for working with teachers and families.
What Is early chIldhood mental health consultatIon?
Mental health consultation is a systematic approach to building the capacity of an early childhood professional to promote young children’s social-emotional and behavioral development. In early childhood mental health consultation, a mental health profes-sional partners with an early childhood educator and models strategies that promote healthy social-emotional development, prevent the development of problematic behaviors and reduce the occurrence of challenging behaviors. Typically, these services are provided in an early care and education (ECE) setting. However, services can also be delivered in homes or community settings.
Early childhood mental health consultation focuses on increasing the skills and expertise of the adults in the child’s life (i.e., teachers, parents, early intervention providers), rather than providing thera-peutic services directly to the child (Cohen & Kaufmann, 2005).
In general, the Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) consul-tant provides strategies for individual children who might be mani-festing problematic behaviors, referred to as “child-/family-focused consultation”; or they may seek to change the environment for a group of children, referred to as “programmatic consultation” (Cohen & Kaufmann, 2005). In practice, these often occur in tandem. Another hallmark of ECMHC is the emphasis on building a collaborative relationship between the consultant and the early childhood professional, as well as with parents. The mental health consultant adopts a posture that acknowledges the experience and insights of the consultee and avoids the role of “expert” (Johnston & Brinamen, 2006). Finally, most ECMHC models do not follow a specific manual or curriculum, but instead are grounded in a “mental health perspective” using a variety of approaches in the support of the practitioner, children, and the families. This perspec-tive encourages both parties to look at the behavior of young chil-dren in the context of their significant relationships, developmental expectations and their environment (Cohen & Kaufmann, 2005).
What skIlls and qualIfIcatIons do ecmh consultants have and need?
There is a growing consensus about the skills and qualifications that mental health professionals working in early childhood settings need to be effective consultants (Cohen & Kaufmann,
Technical Assistance Centeron Social Emotional Intervention
for Young Childrenfor Young Childrenfor Young Children
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
EffectiveMental HealthConsultation
Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
EffectiveMental HealthConsultation
Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
1
In recent years, there have been major concerns expressed
regarding the use of restraint and seclusion to control the
behavior of children with disabilities and/or challenging
behavior. In May of 2009, for example, the US Government
Accountability Office (GAO) released findings regarding a
number of cases in which seclusion and restraint were abused
to the point that children were physically and psychologically
injured. Some children even died while being restrained.
The great potential for abuse and injury has led many school
districts, state agencies, and state governments to issue policies,
regulations and laws that limit the use of restraint and seclu-
sion. Many of these regulations and statutes effectively prohibit
the use of restraint and seclusion except in cases of ortho-
pedic necessity and obvious emergencies in which a child is in
imminent danger. Still, there remains uncertainty about what
constitutes restraint and seclusion and what should be done as
an alternative. The purpose of this document is to review these
issues and discuss positive strategies that can be used to prevent
behaviors that could lead to considerations of these invasive and
potentially-dangerous practices.
What is seclusion?
Seclusion refers to the involuntary confinement of a child alone
in a room or isolated area from which the child is prevented
from leaving. Seclusion may include having a door locked or
blocked with the child being alone, or having a child placed
away from peers and caregivers for a period of time with no
access to social interaction or social activities.
Seclusion can be confused with “time out” (as in “closed door
time out”), however time out is defined simply as an interven-
tion that involves removing or limiting the amount of reinforce-
ment or attention that is available to a child for a brief period
of time. Time out can be used as a component of an approved
behavior support plan when it involves removing a child from
an activity, taking materials or interactions away, or having the
child sit out of an activity away from attention or interactions.
It is important to emphasize that time out does not require or
imply seclusion. For more information about time out, readers
are referred to “What Works Brief #14” at www.vanderbilt.edu/
csefel/resources/what_works.
Seclusion (involuntary confinement) is an extreme procedure
that is not developmentally appropriate and should serve no
purpose as an intervention with young children. In the authors’
opinion, young children must never be alone in a room or
isolated completely from social interaction.
What is restraint?
Restraint is the use of physical force (e.g., holding a child), a
mechanical device (e.g., a chair with straps to hold the child)
or chemicals (e.g., tranquilizers) to immobilize a child and
to prevent the child from engaging in freedom of movement.
Mechanical and physical restraints are most relevant for the
current discussion. Mechanical restraint is defined as the use of
any device or equipment to restrict a child’s freedom of move-
ment. However, the term is not applied when devices are used
Preventing the Use of Restraint and
Seclusion with Young Children: The
Role of Effective, Positive Practices
Glen Dunlap, Cheryl Ostryn, & Lise Fox, February, 2011
Technical Assistance Center
on Social Emotional Intervention
for Young Children
for Young Children
for Young Children
Issue Brief
www.challengingbehavior.org
The development of this paper was supported in part by a grant from the Office of Special Education Programs,
U.S. Department of Education (H326B070002). Opinions expressed herein are the author’s and do not reflect
necessarily the position of the US Department of Education, and such endorsements should not be inferred.
This document is public domain and may be reproduced without permission.
Making Life EasierBy Pamelazita Buschbacher, Ed.D. Illustrated by Sarah I. Perez
1
Many families find bedtime and naptime to be a challenge for them and their children. It is estimated that 43% of all chil-dren and as many as 86% of children with developmental delays experience some type of sleep difficulty. Sleep problems
can make infants and young children moody, short tempered and unable to engage well in interactions with others. Sleep problems can also impact learning. When a young child is sleeping, her body is busy developing new brain cells needed for her physical, mental and emotional development. Parents also need to feel rested in order to be nurturing and responsive to their growing and active young children. Here are a few proven tips for making bedtimes and naptimes easier for parents and children.
Tip: Establish Good Sleep Habits
� Develop a regular time for going to bed and taking naps, and a regular time to wake up. Young children require about 10-12 hours of sleep a day (see the box on the last page that provides information on how much sleep a child needs). Sleep can be any combination of naps and night time sleep.
� Make sure your child has outside time and physical activity daily, but not within the hour before naptime or bedtime.
� Give your child your undivided and unrushed attention as you prepare her for bedtime or a nap. This will help to calm her and let her know how important this time is for you and her.
� Develop a bedtime and naptime routine. Help your child be ready for sleep. Babies and young children thrive on predictability and learn from repetition. They like and need to know what is happening next. It
Bedtime and Naptime
1
Making Life Easier
By Pamelazita Buschbacher, Ed.D.
Illustrated by Sarah I. PerezR unning errands (e.g., going to the store, bank, etc.) is one of those
essential household routines that all families experience. It is often
thought of as a “maintenance” activity that is necessary for the
family, but not enjoyable for young children. However, there can be
huge benefits in taking your young child along. He learns about his commu-
nity while spending time with someone he loves and trusts, someone who can
help him understand the world beyond home and family. Running errands
together offers the chance to build self-confidence, curiosity, social skills, self
control, communication skills, and sensory exploration. He’ll have opportuni-
ties to greet and interact with other children and adults with your guidance and
support. He will also be able experience the myriad of smells, tastes, sounds,
and textures of the greater world within which he lives.
However, running errands can be extremely difficult if the child has chal-
lenging behavior. It’s not uncommon for families to feel overwhelmed by their
child’s challenging behavior and resort to only running errands when someone
else can care for the child at home. Sometimes, depending on the errand (e.g.,
a long shopping trip, parent visit to the doctor), that might be the best strategy.
Still, there are steps you can take to help you and your child get the most out
of these outings.
Tip: Plan for the transition from home
to going out.Let your child know where you both will be going. This can be done verbally,
visually (timer, gesture, using sign language) and/or with sound (timer, count-
down). Remember to allow time for the transition. Young children need time
to shift their focus from one activity to another.
� Provide a transition warning. It is a given that if you have a young child,
he is going to have some trouble with transitioning from one activity/place
to another. • You might try giving him a verbal warning and say, “Nashon, we have
to go to the store in 5 minutes. When you are done with your puzzle,
we can put your shoes on.”
Running Errands
1
Making Life Easier
By Pamelazita Buschbacher, Ed.D.
Illustrated by Sarah I. Perez
F or many families, changing a child’s diaper becomes a major battle.
This routine is one that is often not as scheduled or predictable as
other activities. It is often unpleasant for adults and not an activity
that the young child enjoys. As your child grows older and becomes
more mobile and interested in interacting with his
world, diaper changing might become even more diffi-
cult. While it can be challenging, it is also an opportu-
nity for building a positive, nurturing and responsive
relationship with your child. Several proven strategies
can help to make diapering a positive and relationship
building experience for both of you.
Tip: Prepare your child for
the diaper change.
Develop a predictable routine for diapering that can
change as your child grows and becomes more mobile
and independent. A routine helps the child understand
what will happen and what to expect. While changing
your child, give your child your undivided and
unrushed attention. The calmness in your voice and
manner will most likely calm him and encourage his
cooperation. Respond to his sounds and interactions
with gentle touch, nuzzles with your nose under his
chin, eye contact, soothing sounds and
words. Respond in soothing ways that
you know comfort him and you both
enjoy. Babies and toddlers thrive on
predictability and learn from repeti-
tion. They like and need to know
what is going to happen next. The
following are strategies that will help
your child learn to cooperate with the
diaper changing routine.
Diapering
32
1